MORE WOMEN THAN MEN IN HELL?

by

Sr. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.

(Many passages in this article were taken from my book on the Life of the Prophet, due out later this year insha’Allah, and where no reference is given to the sahih hadith collections, the information was derived from Ibn Hisham or Ibn Sa’d).

I have often pondered the attitude of many pious Muslims who although they dearly love Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) nevertheless seem to have a reverence based on fear. If one reads the Qur’an and hadith collections, it is as plain as the nose on your face that the chief characteristic of our dear Lord Allah is His Compassion, His understanding love. The fact that He is the Compassionate, the Merciful introduces every surah except surah 9 (probably because it is most likely a continuation of surah 8) and every prayer. Yes, there is sternness and justice when dealing with evil, but above all, there is enormous compassion for weakness and mistakes. The Almighty our Creator knows full well that we are but human beings, full of faults and sins and disappointments and blind-spots. It is one of the greatest blessings that when it comes to punishing us for our failings, our Lord does not judge as a human being does, but in a way we can never fully understand or appreciate. His compassion is so far above our own. As He revealed to us in the Qur’an, if He punished us according to what we deserved, there would be left on earth no living thing. (Surah 35:45). Alhamdu lillah!

Similarly, our beloved Prophet (pbuh) was the living example for us of all the qualities Allah wished us to encourage and build up in ourselves. He was gentle, and kind, and honourable, and brave, taking the side of the helpless, the children, the destitute, the abused women. He did this even before his call to Prophethood, for it was the main aim of the Order of Chivalry (the Hilf al-Fudul) founded by his uncle Zubayr b. Abd al-Muttalib, and Abdallah b. Juda’an the chief of Taym.

So, whenever we come across a bald statement in the writings that seems to be out of keeping, and looks as if our beloved Prophet (pbuh) couldn’t possibly have said that for it does not ring true with what we know about him, we must look a little deeper to see if there is some aspect of it that we have perhaps missed. Needless to say, the very first rule of judging whether or not a hadith is reliable is to test it against the teaching and spirit of the Qur’an. Any hadith that disagrees with the Qur’an cannot possibly be genuine.

The western media is frequently accused of misunderstanding Islam, so let us look briefly at a few stunning headlines that might have appeared in the popular press shortly before 632 CE. They all give pause for thought.

‘Prophet dooms young orphan girl to early death.’

‘Prophet curses favourite wife from his death-bed.’

‘Prophet insists Paradise is denied to old women.’

‘Prophet rages: ‘Hell is two-thirds full of women!’’

None of these headlines would sound at all right to anyone who knows anything about Islam. All the Prophet’s (pbuh) words, actions and way of life reveal him as a man of gentleness, kindness, humility, good humour and excellent common sense, who had a great love for all people.

Some people have supposed the Prophet (pbuh) to have been a severe, austere man, but in fact he was always smiling. One companion said of him: ‘I have seen no person smiling more than the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).’ Aishah said: ‘He was the softest and most kind of all people; and he was a man like you, except that he was cheerful and smiling.’

When people laughed, he laughed with them. Although his laugh was usually no more than a smile, sometimes it was said of him that he threw back his head and laughed so completely that you could see his teeth shining like white hailstones. There are many hadiths recording how the Prophet (pbuh) laughed so heartily at something that people could see his molar teeth! (For example Abu Dawud 2316, 452, Bukhari 3.157, 6.466, 8.299, 9.510; and Muslim 82).

He had, in fact, a whimsical sense of humour, revealed in many of his sayings. The humour also came through in the nicknames he gave people. For example, any lady who was called Barrah immediately got her name changed to something else, for ‘barrah’ meant ‘good’. It was not the he could not believe any woman could be ‘good’. The Prophet (pbuh) explained to the woman that if he did not change that name he would never be able to say ‘goodbye’ to her, for it hurt him to bid farewell to the Good. Other nicknames included Abu Hurayrah (‘Father of the little cat’ – so called because when he worked as a shepherd he used to keep a kitten), and Abu Turab (‘Father of dust’ – the Prophet’s (pbuh) special private name for his son-in-law Ali, who sometimes slept on his own, on the ground, and got dusty whenever he and Fatimah had a disagreement).

The Prophet’s (pbuh) wives (some quite overweight!) were known as ‘the glass vessels’. Anas recorded how once he and his mother Umm Sulaym had been travelling in howdahs along with the Prophet’s (pbuh) wives, and they were hurried along too fast by Anjasha’s singing. ‘Gently, O Anjasha,’ cried the Prophet (pbuh) to the camel-driver. ‘Be careful – these camels are carrying delicate glass vessels. Don’t break them.’(Muslim 5746).

Surely it would be improper for a prophet of God to have a sense of humour? Far from it -– it only seems improper to those who have not read about the Prophet (pbuh) with understanding. In fact, he was not a dour pronouncer of doom except when such pronouncements were necessary -– he was a man who was attractive and alive with humour, forever drawing people to the faith, not driving them away. He once said: ‘The dearest of you to me are those who have good manners; the most offensive to me are the most boring and the long-winded!’

Umar b. Khattab recorded that during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh) there was a man called Abdullah whose nickname was Donkey, who regularly used to make the Prophet (pbuh) laugh. One day the Prophet (pbuh) had him flogged because of drinking alcohol. A little later he was brought back again on the same charge and was lashed again. At that, one of the men said, ‘Allah, curse him! Look how frequently he has been brought (to the Prophet on such a charge)!’ The Prophet said: ‘Do not curse him, for by Allah, I know for he loves Allah and His Apostle.’ (Buk 8.771).

Nothing enraged him, and he despised no-one – except those overcome by evil, who were opposed to Allah and His ways. Even so, it was not the person, but the evil that had taken hold of them that was despised. Once any such person repented and turned back to good, he or she was accepted instantly, and forgiven – both by Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). He did not take offence at anything and then take revenge on the person who offended him, unless the sacred things of Allah had been violated, in which case he would only take revenge for the sake of Allah. He certainly never made unpleasant remarks designed to hurt or spite people.

Sometimes he used some of the current banter that was typical of the tribesmen at the time, which appeared on the surface to be cruel or violent. For example, he once exclaimed ‘may your parents be sacrificed for you!’ - the brief words bi abi! (Bukhari 5.385, 2.714, 1.321, 1.711, Abu Dawud 94, 2187, 2256, Muslim 11, etc. This was a common expression, particularly used by Abu Bakr and Umm Atiyyah. Ali actually commented that he only ever heard the Prophet (pbuh) say it once, during the battle of Uhud (Bukhari 8.203). Sometimes he cried that someone should ‘have their mouth stuffed with dirt’, or ‘may your hand be cut off!’, and so on. These were all expresions which were hardly intended to be taken literally, but typical gruff Bedouin humour. (I would personally include as examples of his gruff humour such sayings as Bukhari 1.28, 301; 2.161,541; 7.125; 9.171. See also Muslim 31,448).

Sometimes he said extremely severe things, which must have pulled his audiences up sharp, only to relax with a smile when they realised he was joking. After the Farewell Pilgrimage at the Eid prayer, for example, the Prophet (pbuh) used his humour to charm his female companions into donating more for charity than they might have intended. Abdullah b. Abbas, who was there as a child, recorded that after he had offered up the prayer and delivered his khutbah the Prophet (pbuh) waved at the people to make them sit down, came down from the pulpit and walked towards the women who were sitting in rows behind the men, leaning on Bilal’s arm, while Bilal held out his cloak for them to throw in their gifts of charity. This was not the required zakat-ul-Fitr (contributions made by every Muslim who can afford it so that the poor can be given money in advance in order to be able to pay for their feast obligations) but extra personal gifts according to their own choice. One woman might donate a ring off her finger, and others would see and do the same.

He urged the women to be generous with their gifts, for when he had glimpsed into the flames of Hell, he had noted the vast majority of people being tormented there were women. The women were outraged, and one of them instantly stood up and demanded to know why that was so. ‘Because,’ he replied, ‘you women grumble so much, and show ingratitude to your husbands! Even if the poor fellows spent all their lives doing good things for you, you have only to be upset at the least thing and you will say, 'I have never received any good from you!’ At that the women began vigorously to pull off their rings and ear-rings, and throw them into Bilal’s cloak. (Bukhari 1.28, Abu Dawud 439 etc).

Even on his deathbed the Prophet (pbuh) made characteristic remarks. He had requested Abu Bakr to lead the prayers in his place, but he heard Umar’s voice and demanded an explanation. Aishah admitted she had sent Umar, explaining that her father was too distressed and overcome with emotion, his voice shook, and he wept when he recited the Qur’an. The Prophet (pbuh) insisted it was to be Abu Bakr, and called Aishah ‘one of the women of Joseph’ (that is, one of those who were tempted to seduce the Prophet Yusuf/Joseph (pbuh). He also used the expression ‘may your hand be cut off.’ He had only said those words fondly, but when he noticed later that Aishah kept looking at her hands he asked her what was the matter. She told him she was wondering which hand she would lose!

I would like to examine more closely the saying about Hell being two-thirds full of women. The hadith in fact came in several different versions, based on two quite separate traditions as regarded the occasions - the first was the collection of alms after the Eid prayer, as I have presented it in my article, and the second was recorded for the day of the tragic death of the Prophet’s (pbuh) son Ibrahim, when an eclipse occurred. Added phrases mentioned in the latter hadith also stated that the women’s practice of Islam was inferior to that of men.

The ‘eclipse’ sayings:

Abdullah bin Abbas (who was also the source of the hadith given in Buk 1:28, where the occasion was the Eid prayer) narrated: ‘The sun eclipsed in the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh). Allah's Apostle offered the eclipse prayer and stood for a long period, equal to the time in which one could recite Surat-al-Baqara (the longest surah). Then he bowed for a long time and then stood up for a long period - which was shorter than that of the first standing - then bowed again for a long time but for a shorter period than the first; then he prostrated twice and then stood up for a long period which was shorter than that of the first standing; then he bowed for a long time which was shorter than the previous one, and then he raised his head and stood up for a long period which was shorter than the first standing, then he bowed for a long time which was shorter than the first bowing, and then prostrated (twice) and finished the prayer. By then, the sun (eclipse) had cleared. The Prophet then said: ‘The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse either because of the death of a person or because of a birth. So when you see them, remember Allah.; The people said: ‘O Allah's Apostle! We saw you while in your place seeming to take something, and then we saw you pull back.’ The Prophet replied: ‘I saw Paradise, and stretched my hands towards a bunch (of its fruits). If I had taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains. I also saw Hell-fire, and I have never seen such a horrible sight. I noticed that most of the inhabitants were women.’ The people asked: ‘O Allah's Apostle! Why is it so?’ The Prophet replied: ‘Because of their ungratefulness.’ It was asked whether they really were ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet said: ‘They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful for good deeds. You could be kind to one of them your whole life through, but if she saw anything (undesirable) in you, she would say, 'I have never had any good from you.' " (Buk 2.161).

Buk 7.125 gives the first part the same as the above, and continues: "I saw Paradise (or Paradise was shown to me), and I stretched my hand to pluck a bunch (of grapes), and had I plucked it, you would have eaten of it as long as this world exists. Then I saw the (Hell) Fire, and I have never before seen such a horrible sight as that, and I saw that the majority of its dwellers were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for that?" He replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was said. "Do they disbelieve in Allah (are they ungrateful to Allah)?" He replied, "They are not thankful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favours done to them. Even if you do good to one of them all your life, when she sees some harshness from you, she will say, "I have never seen any good from you.' "

The Eid sayings:

Abu Said al-Khudri narrated: Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) on either the Eid-al-Adha or al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said: ‘O women! Give in charity, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women).’ They asked: ‘Why is that so, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘You are always cursing your husband and are ungrateful to them.’ He then added: ‘I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. Some of you could lead astray a cautious sensible man.’ The women asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?’ He said: ‘Doesn’t it take two women equal to give evidence equal to the witness of one man?’ They replied that it was so. He said: ‘That is the deficiency in your intelligence. And isn't it true that a woman neither prays nor fasts during her menses?’ The women replied that it was so. He said: ‘That is the deficiency in your religion.’ (Buk 1.301).

Jabir b. Abdullah’s version

Jabir recorded that he recited to them the verse: ‘O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of loyalty to you . . . (to the end of the verse)’ (60.12) and then asked the women if they were fulfilling their covenant? None except one woman said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then give in charity,’ the Prophet (pbuh) declared. ‘Keep on giving alms, ladies, let my father and mother sacrifice their lives for you,’ Bilal urged them. So the ladies pulled off their fatkhs (large rings, which were popular in pre-Islamic times) and other kinds of jewellery and put them in Bilal’s garment. (Bukhari 2.95)

Zaynab’s version

According to Buk 2.541 Abu Said al-Khudri narrated: On either the Eid ul Fitr or Eid ul Adha, Allah's Messenger (pbuh) went out to the Musalla. After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and ordered the people to give charity. He said: ‘O people! Give alms!’ Then he went towards the women and said: ‘O women! Give charity, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women).’ The women asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! What is the reason for it?’ He replied: ‘O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women, some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray.’ Then he left. And when he reached his house, Zaynab the wife of Ibn Mas'ud, came and asked permission to enter. ‘O Messenger, it is Zaynab.’ Someone said. ‘Which Zaynab?’ he asked. The reply was that it was the wife of Ibn Mas'ud. He said: ‘Yes, allow her to enter.’ And she was admitted. Then she said: ‘O Prophet of Allah! Today you ordered people to give charity and I had an ornament and intended to give it as alms, but Ibn Mas'ud said that he and his children deserved it more than anybody else.’ The Prophet replied: ‘Ibn Mas'ud spoke the truth. Your husband and your children have more right to it than anybody else.

Ibn Umar’s version

In Muslim 31 Abdullah ibn Umar narrated: The Messenger of Allah observed: ‘O women, you should give charity and ask for much forgiveness for I saw you in the majority amongst the dwellers of Hell.’ A wise lady among them said: ‘Why is it, Messenger of Allah, that our gender is in majority in Hell?’ Upon this the Holy Prophet observed: ‘You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. I have seen none lacking in common sense and failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise, besides you.’ Upon this the woman remarked: ‘What is wrong with our common sense and with religion?’ He observed: ‘Your lack of common sense (in) that the evidence of two women is equal to that of one man; that is the proof of your lack of common sense. And you spend some nights (and days) in which you do not offer prayer and in the month of Ramadan (during the menstrual days) you do not observe fast; that is your failing in religion.’ This hadith was also narrated on the authority of Abu Tahir with this chain of transmitters. See also Muslim 448.

Not in keeping with the Qur’an?

Is it possible that the two above wry comments of the Prophet were also intended to be taken as examples of his humour? It is vital that it should be made very clear that women not offering prayer during their menses or fasting on those days in the month of Ramadan is NOT a failing in their religion at all – it was a concession allowed by Allah in His revelation.. As regarded the fasts, women were simply required to make up the missed days at some other time before the coming of the next Ramadan month. Their period of uncleanness and discomfort during menstruation coming under the category of illness.

‘Therefore, anyone of you who witnesses that month should fast therein, and whoever is ill or upon a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. Allah intends your well-being and does not want to put you to hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period so that you should glorify His Greatness and render thanks to Him for giving you guidance.’ 2:185:

Imam Malik, who did not regard travelling as being a good enough reason, accepted menstruation as valid reason. ‘No one who, by the Book of Allah, has to fast may break his fast except for a reason - illness or menstruation. He must not travel and break his fast." Malik said, "This is the best that I have heard about the matter." Al-Muwatta 18:40.

Fiqh as-Sunnah 1.71a (in the Alim Encyclopedia CD) gives us: If women fast (while menstruating during Ramadan), those days will be considered null and void. They will still have to make those days of fasting up later on. Mu'adhah said: ‘I asked Aishah: Why must we make up the fasts missed due to our menstruation, but not the prayers (missed through menstruation)?' She said, ‘That was what the Messenger of Allah told us to do. We were ordered to make up the fasts, and we were ordered not to make up the prayers.’

The witness of two women

The passage also suggested that two female witnesses were regarded as the equal of one male witness.

In fact, the Qur’an actually taught that the witness of a woman was just as valid as that of a man, and made no distinction regarding the sex of a witness in every single reference to bearing witness but one – the concession of granting two female witnesses in legal cases where women had little knowledge or expertise. The intention of this concession was to prevent women being tricked or cheated by unscrupulous men who could take advantage of their inexperience in business matters.

‘O believers! When you deal with each other in lending for a fixed period of time, put it in writing. Let a scribe write everything down with justice between the parties. The scribe, who has been given the gift of literacy by Allah, should not refuse to write; he is under obligation to write. Let the debtor dictate, fearing the Almighty, his Lord, and not diminishing anything from the settlement. If the borrower is mentally unsound or weak or is unable to dictate himself, let the guardian of his interests dictate for him with justice. Let two witnesses from among you bear witness to all such documents, if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women of your choice should bear witness, so that if one of the women forgets anything the other may remind her. Witnesses must not refuse (to bear witness) when they are called upon to do so.’ (2.282).

In every other kind of case, there was no reason why the witness of a woman should not be just as reliable as evidence as that of a man, and no distinction of either sex was made or necessary. For example: ‘Those who accuse a chaste woman of fornication and do not produce four witnesses to support their allegation, shall be flogged with eighty lashes and their testimony shall not be accepted ever after, for they are the ones who are wicked transgressors.’ (24.4). The text implies any four witnesses, who could be of either sex.

In societies where it is insisted that the witnesses should all be male, this is really a cultural gloss on the rule, since any text in the Arabic masculine plural grammatically includes both men and women, unless specifically stated otherwise. Assumptions that women’s evidence would be unreliable because of the inferiority of women in intellectual capacity, memory, or character stem from a patriarchal perspective in a male-dominated community which tried to limit the appearance of their women in public. The Qur’an does not bear this attitude and established the equality of men and women before Allah. The restrictions against public appearance are a nonsense in this century, when the medical evidence of the rape could be presented by a woman doctor to a female litigator in front of a female jurist! It is certainly a travesty of justice to deny a victim of rape the right to testify to this violent attack merely because she is a woman.

I hope that these thoughts of mine have given something to ponder; and if Allah is merciful – as I fully believe – that when I come to face my own Life in the Hereafter, insha’Allah I may not be included amongst the unfortunate women in Hellfire!